A user environment, such as a residence or an office building for example, may be configured using various types of load control systems. Load control systems may include lighting systems, motorized window treatment systems, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, or the like. Most load control systems require the use of various devices for performing load control. Such load control systems may be embodied in a two-part load control system that includes a controllable device for directly controlling the electrical load and a control device, such as a remote control, for indirectly controlling the electrical load by sending instructions to the controllable device. Using such load control systems, a user may indirectly control an electrical load using a control device.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a prior art load control environment 102. As shown in FIG. 1, the load control environment 102 may include controllable devices and control devices. The controllable devices may include a lighting control device 104 (e.g., a dimmer switch, a ballast, or a light-emitting diode (LED) driver) for directly controlling an amount of power provided to lighting load 106, a motorized window treatment 112 for controlling the position of covering material 114, a thermostat 120 for controlling an HVAC system, and an alternating-current (AC) plug-in load control device 122 for controlling the amount of power provided to a floor lamp 124, table lamp, or the electrical load of another device that is plugged in to the AC plug-in load control device 122. The control devices in the load control environment 102 may include remote control device 116, a daylight sensor 108, and/or an occupancy sensor 110. The remote control device 116 may communicate with load control devices via a wired or wireless communication. The remote control device 116 may include a wireless switch, a wireless dimmer, a cellular phone, a tablet, or other wireless remote control device.
The control devices in the load control system depicted in FIG. 1 may provide convenient ways for the user 118 to control an electrical load. These load control systems, however, require the user 118 to keep track of one or more devices for controlling the system. A user's control may also be limited due to a predefined interface or the limited instructions provided by the control device.
Gesture recognition is a developing technology, which is being considered for use in load control systems. Gesture recognition may enable a user of an electronic device to send instructions to a load control device without the use of a remote control or a similar control device. Instead, an electronic device may capture an image of a user and recognize a user's command by identifying a gesture indicated by the user in the image. The electronic device may recognize the user's gesture by identifying one or more predefined locations on the user's body and determining a predefined configuration of those points that indicates a user command. Once the user command is determined, the electronic device may send instructions to a device capable of carrying out the command.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a prior art example of a load control environment 202 for gesture-based load control. As shown in FIG. 2, a computer device 210 may be configured by a user 208 to recognize a gesture performed by the user 208 and determine load control instructions based on the performed gesture. The user 208 may configure the computer device 210 to recognize a region 212 around a lamp 204. A digital camera 214 may track the user 208 and identify when the user 208 is in proximity to the region 212. The user 208 may raise and lower an arm along a base 206 of the lamp 204 to control the power supplied to the lamp 204. The user 208 may configure the computer device 210 to recognize these gestures within the region 202 and instruct the lamp 204 to increase and decrease the power supplied to the lamp 204 when the user 208 raises and lowers an arm. When the user 208 raises an arm along the base 206 of the lamp 204, the power supplied to the lamp 204 may increase. When the user 208 lowers an arm along the base 206 of the lamp 204, the power supplied to the lamp 204 may decrease.
While load control systems are being developed that may allow for controlling devices using gesture-like movements, the current systems are still inconvenient to use. The current systems are experimental and may have to be entirely configured by the user. The current systems lack features that would make them commercially viable. There are also many challenges associated with developing a gesture-based load control system that have not been addressed by current systems.